I wonder how they are coping with it all, if they’re finding comfort, if there’s anything I could possibly do to help. Nothing comes to mind.

I don’t know what caused the accident.

But I do know we report too many such tragedies in the pages of our newspapers, that too many families are missing loved ones because of highway tragedies, that far too many of us still haven’t adjusted our driving habits to limit the number of people who lose their lives on the road.

Many of us get behind the wheel each morning and race at high speeds to wherever we’re going. Some of even respond to texts or emails along the way.

We repeat that reckless behaviour at lunchtime, on the way home, on weekends.

We do it with our kids in the car, and with other people’s children aboard.

We do it with our mothers and fathers in the passenger seat.

And we do it with our romantic partners — the ones we searched years to find — next to us.

But the risks just don’t make sense and can never add up, especially when the reward is as insignificant as getting to work, or a drive-thru line-up, or somewhere like the mall, a few minutes earlier.

Please slow down. Please turn your phones off and put them in the trunk. Please drive with care and caution.

Accidents will still happen no matter what, but hopefully we’ll be driving by fewer houses hit by tragedy.